Sweet Dreams

I'm making my list......

When mami showed me these eco-friendly dog beds that she found online, I just knew I had to have one. Please try to remember that even though I don't always succeed, I'm trying very hard to be nice and not naughty.

I think I prefer the green one please!

Hello Mia?

Call me.

Hello Mia? from Krista on Vimeo.

Head over Heels

I have a boyfriend. Yep, that's right. I'm in love. At least that is what my mami & his mami think. I suppose I'm too wittle to weally have a boyfriend, but I will say that Don Akira is my best friend. As I grow bigger and bigger, he gets a lot less scary. At first I thought he might squash me the way he jumps like a goat, but now I know he's just happy to see me! I still do a lot of laying on my back while he licks me from head to toe, but sometimes I start stuff too! Look at all the fun we had together this past week (and on Miss Dani's blog here & here).

My 1st kiss

I'm really not scared, I promise.

He licks me all over until I'm sopping wet!

So happy!

Scottie Dog!

Do you recognize this little pup?

Around these parts everyone takes one look at our little Mia and says "eScott" just like the most popular toilet paper brand in Guatemala. We usually just laugh and nod our heads, but it wasn't until recently that we really started to believe it!

Our cute little puppy girl is growing up and getting awfully sneaky. Look at what we came across the other day.

Now do you see the resemblance?

Lazy Sunday

Guess what we did this morning? We slept in - all 3 of us. (Well that is if you don't count the 2 times mami got up to feed me & take me out). My parents are nuts if they think a 3 month old will let them sleep in, but we did have some fun playing in bed together!

Mami let me use her special pillow that's just my size.

This was my view from the pillow.

Yep that's right, I'm smiling.

I love lazy Sundays!

Up, up & away!

The day after we went to the beach, mami's favorite place, papi decided that he wanted to share one of his favorite activities with me......hiking. We went to a place that mami and papi have been talking about for a while. It's called El Pilar and it's right outside of Antigua near mami's work. El Pilar is a ecological park - a big forest with a long, long hiking trail and bunches and bunches of stairs to climb. The sign at the entrance said No Mascotas (no pets), but a nice man in the big cowboy hat let me in anyway. I suppose he couldn't resist my sweetness.... the story of my life!!

We started out checking out some humming birds (Hmmmm? - that's a special joke just for my grandpapi) and then we began the hike. We went up and up and up and up. Papi said he thought that there must have been at least 1000 stairs. I can't count that high, but I'm pretty sure he was right. Guess what though? Remember how I've been trying to show mami & papi how I'm gonna be a little adventure dog just like them? Well, I'm pretty sure they agree now since I climbed ALL of the steps by myself! That's right - all by myself!

Come on papi, let's go!

I worked really hard.

Papi even called me Super Mia. Silly him, he thinks I can fly!

We picniced along the way.....
thank goodness Sr. Greg brought me my new travel bowls!

It was so pretty the way the sunshine came down through the trees.

And of course there were other pretty things to look at too.....like me!

Life just doesn't get much better than this!

Beach Bum!

During the week we work really hard, mami & papi & me, but we play really hard on the weekends too! Last weekend we had so much fun. I took my first trip to the beach and went swimming for my very first time. Mami and papi said that the beach we visited wasn't the best one ever, but I had great time anyway. The sand was black and super hot and the waves were big. Mami and papi kept me safe. They carried me across the hot sand so I wouldn't burn my wittle paws and they lifted me over the big waves. They promised me that soon enough we'd go back to the beach....an even better beach with white sand. I'm so excited!

At first I wasn't so sure......

......but papi help me out.....

....and then I started to have fun.

I got really dirty from the black sand.....

....and mami laughed a lot!

I sunbathed a while.........

....and when it got too bright I hid under papi's umbrella.

What a great day we had!

Let's do it again real soon!

Sleeping Beauty

Napping alone is nice......


......but napping with my mami is always nicer.

Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun

When the papi is away, Mia & mami play!

Golden Girl

Lucky me! I got to go to work with mami one day recently. Her friend Abby had a Vision Team there so I had to stay in the office most of the day, but I didn't mind 'cause I got to be close to my mami all day long. At lunch time we went downstairs and played in the grass and I got lots of attention. People kept saying things like "Que chulo!" Mami said that means I'm cool. I just hope I can go back one day soon and get some more attention again soon!

In the afternoon mami had to go to a meeting, so a nice lady from the team offered to keep an eye on me. The sun was shining really bright in the office where I was chilling out. I love the sunshine just like my mami.

Look at this awesome picture she got of me.

Mami says I'm her Golden Girl!

Flower Power!

What girl doesn't love flowers?

Going Green

I love grass! A couple of weeks ago mami & papi took me to this amazing park filled with grass and kids! They called it La Florencia. It was so fun. Mami threw down a blanket and she and I played and visited with some kids while papi explored on his bicycle. I don't know if I have ever seen my papi so happy. He sure loves that bicycle. In fact, he gave me a ride on it one day. Mami just about had a heart attack, so I decided I won't let papi do it again. He'll just have to wait until I bigger and can run along side of him.

I did a bit of exploring, but some nearby horses looked pretty intimidating.....

the kids there loved me, as usual!

grass always makes me want to frolik!

when papi is happy, so am I

a fun day in the park weally makes me sweepy

Frisky When Wet

After we got home from the kite festival I was really tuckered out. So were mami & papi, so we all napped for a while. When we woke up mami suggested we take a walk to the market to pick up some things for her homemade apple butter. I was still quite pooped, so papi carried me most of the way. He says I'm getting heavy, so this royal treatment is gonna have to end some day soon. While we were out, mami spotted my other papi (Ms. Betty's husband) across the street. He saw us too and came over to say hola. I was tickled to see him and licked his face just like I used to do when I lived at their home with my doggie mami & papi. My real mami (the one that I live with) told me about how I used to be his favorite little pup. She said that Ms. Betty even cried the day that mami & papi took me away. I don't really remember that day, but mami says one day soon she'll take me back to visit my dog parents. Ms. Betty's husband gave me a kiss and thanked my mami & papi for loving me so much and taking extra special care of me.

When we got home I was in for a big surprise. I had the time of my life at the kite festival, investigating every inch of the cemetery and munching on the pretty flowers but I also got super dirty there, so mami & papi gave me my very first bath at their house. They had to wait a few extra weeks because last time I went to the vet, they found out that I had fleas and I got a special treatment. The vet told them no baths for at least 2 weeks after the treatment. Finally the day had come.

Mami had her big camera out to document the event. I'm a sort of embarrassed about some of the following photos, so please don't giggle at me. Remember I'm just a little puppy girl that still needs my mami & papi to take care of me.

pretty soon I'll be too big for the sink!

pitiful, I know

please no more pictures

I was chilly willy!

bath time is so fun!

Baby loves chicken

Did you know that chicken comes in 2 forms? The animal and the food. Recently I have discovered a new love for both of them!

When Sr. Gregorio came to visit last week he brought some presents with him. It was just like Santa coming to town, but with a blond beard and a button down shirt instead of the red suit. {I might be wittle, but I still know all about Santa!}. One of the surprises Santa Greg brought was a special gift from his big doggie boy, Sol. Apparently where Sol lives in the United States there is a club for doggie toys of the month. How cool is that? Only in America........the place where doggie dreams can come true!

Sol's present to me was a chicken - well, a gallo is what we Chapines call them. It is nearly as big as me! I wasn't too sure what to do with it at first, but Sr. G showed me how the big dogs play. Watch me show that Guy who's boss!

Meeting Gallo from Krista on Vimeo.

Thanks for giving away one of your toys to this little 3rd World puppy girl, Sol! Giving to the poor is really generous!

After Sr. Greg left Guatemala my tummy started hurting a little bit. The doggie doctor said I probably got into something that I shouldn't have {imagine that!} and that it was normal for puppies to get sick sometimes. So lately I haven't always wanted to eat my food. Mami and papi were getting a little worried, so one evening while mami was working really late papi whipped me up something special. Chicken - without the feathers. I scarfed it down fast and boy was it delicious! Plus it didn't even upset my tummy. That night papi sent mami a text message that said "Baby Loves Chicken" - and yes sir, he was right! Mimi loves chicken! Fire up that grill again papi!

Bye Bye Buddy

The other day my mami was really sad. When I asked her why she told me it was because one of her favorite doggies in the whole wide world had passed away. He was her family's pet and a little brother to my mami & her brother. He was my Uncle Riley. Although I never got to meet him, I did mami did tell me some stories about him and I could tell that she loved him just as much as she loves me.

When my mami was 15 years old, her family had another pet, Toby, that also passed away. The following summer when they felt like they were ready for another pet, they went to go pick up Riley Jaxx. Mami, Uncle Ryan and Grandmami drove about an hour away to get him and brought him back home in a laundry basket (kind of like how I spent first few days). He was really little and they were all a little nervous to live with something so little, but as time went on, he grew up and became their best pal.

Mami says that Riley was smart. He was a loyal friend and protector to the family. He played in the yard, danced for treats, chased them in circles around the house and cuddled up with them every night. He never wanted to leave their sides. When mami left for college, Riley became Uncle Ryan's best friend. And then one day when Uncle Ryan moved away too, Riley spent his time with Grandmami & Grandpapi. The whole family loved him very much.

Mami knew that Uncle Riley was getting older and sometimes had a hard time seeing and hearing, but still it is very sad for her and all of her family. My mami knows how to find a silver lining in every sad story though. She said the day we went out to enjoy the kites was a celebration for All Saint's Day. The kites work like messengers to let the people in Heaven know that their families still love them and think about them and want to communicate with them. Mami says that although it is really sad that Uncle Riley passed away, it is nice to know that it happened on such an important day and for sure now Uncle Riley is an angel in Heaven. Mami says he is my angel and will watch over me and protect me.

She also told me that we don't need to be sad because Uncle Riley is happy now. He isn't hurting and he isn't lonely. He misses his people family, but he has meet up with his angel family. Probably even right now, Uncle Riley is froliking and playing in a park with some of our family's other special people who live in Heaven too, like Toby & his sister Henni. Mami said that she knows her Mama Master is playing with them too. She really loved animals. I think even when we go back to Colorado we will carry on the Guatemalan tradition and always fly a kite on that day in honor of our friends in Heaven.

Certainly I wish that I could have met my Uncle Riley, but I'm happy to know that he had such a great life. It makes me certain that I will have a good life too filled with lots of love.

Perfectly Peanut Butter

Hello! It's mami here. Today I thought I'd share with you the recipe for one of Mia's most favorite snacks. Since we don't exactly have a PetSmart right around the corner here in Antigua, I was hard stretched to find good training treats for our little puppy girl. But then it came to me. If people can make their babies homemade natural baby food, why can't I do the same for my Mia? So I jumped right online and found a few good sites with dog treat recipes. A lot of the treats were quite complicated and since sometimes I'm not sure where I can find a light bulb in this town, let alone wheat germ, I stuck to what looked do-able and delicious. Our dog growing up, Riley Jaxx (rest in peace buddy), was mad about about peanut butter treats, so immediately I sought out a good peanut butter recipe that I'm happy to share with you.

Mia's Peanut Butter Poppers
1 cup creamy peanut butter (*we use Esmeralda All Natural found only here in Guatemala)
1 cup milk
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 cups wheat flour (or white if you must)

Mix together the PB and milk. Add in the baking powder and flour little by little, until you have a dough like consistency. Now the original recipe suggests rolling out the dough and cutting out shapes with cookie cutters, but since we hoped to use these snacks for training treats I thought small little balls were a better bet (this part takes some time). Pop them in the oven at 375 on a non-stick baking sheet for about 10 minutes, rolling them around a few times to avoid burning. When they begin to look slightly browned, they're done. Cool and store. (We purchased some great little glass jars and now keep the poppers in every room of the house.)

(Note: I usually half the recipe - it makes a whole lot of poppers!)

Scrumptious! They're all natural and not too bad, if I do say so myself. Think Peanut Butter Captain Crunch without all the sugar. Mia goes nutso for them! A girl after her mother's own heart! So far we've been able to teach her to come, sit and fetch, all by using the poppers! Who knows what the future holds with these treats!

My 1st Real Adventure

We woke up bright and early Sunday morning to celebrate El Día de Los Difuntos (Day of the Deceased). It's a big deal holiday here in Guatemala and since I'm Chapina mami & papi wanted me to experience part of my culture. We loaded into the car, stopped by to pick up my friends Alan & Louise and we were on our way to Santiago Sacatepéquez where the big celebration of kites happens every year on November 1st.

This was my first real adventure with my adventure loving parents, so I really wanted to show them that I know how to behave like a big puppy girl. Boy oh boy did we have fun! We walked a lot, and when I couldn't walk anymore papi carried me. Finally we reached the big cemetery where many of the locals had decorated the tombs of their family members with pine needles, marigolds and chrysanthemums. It was really beautiful. Then a little later on the big kites got raised. Wowee, they were really colorful and pretty. There were bunches and bunches of people at the festival, but not very many doggies - just me, so I got lots of attentions. I liked it.

Mami & papi found a seat on the cemetery wall and watch all of the people assemble the big kites while I did a bit of exploring all by myself.

Mami took about 300 photos of the kites (& me).
(I look scared in this photo, but really I wasn't!)

I made friends with some nice boys.

After a while I took a nap while mami & papi ate tacos.

Then we went back to see the rest of the kites.

Here are my friends Alan & Louise with Papi.

It was the coolest day ever.

I'm pretty sure that I did a good job on this adventure. Mami & papi are already talking about where we'll go next. Yipee!